Human Development Flashcards

Question

Give an example of a gene/environment interaction

Answer 1

PKU (Phenylketonuria) - a rare genetic condition - baby is born without the ability to process protein - if untreated, severe mental retardation occurs - it is a treatable disease though - need to follow a strict diet which is extremely low in phenylalanine particularly when the child is growing

Answer 2

Because if something goes wrong with development, this is where it happens and we can investigate it

Answer 3

- process by which new cells are made - cells start to swell & duplicate all it's chromosome pairs until there is the equivalent to two cells in one - this cell then splits in half to make two new cells, each containing 23 pairs of chromosomes

Answer 4

Genes which activate growth and control builder structural genes

Answer 5

Genes which code for a product/do the work

Answer 6

Diamond - maternal stress prior to the conception of offspring can alter genes in the maternal ova - this altered genome can be passed down to offspring - stress before pregnancy can affect the child's development in later life

Answer 7

- people with a particular version of a gene involved in making serotonin are more likely to develop depression after a stressful life event than those with a different allele of this gene - abused children are more likely to develop antisocial personality traits is they have a particular version of a neurotransmitter gene - eg after a divorce someone can become more depressed if they have a gene that makes them susceptible for developing depression

Answer 8

- identify all the genes in human DNA - determine the different sequences of the different chemical base pairs that make up human DNA - store this information in databases - improve tools for data analysis - transfer related technologies to the private sector - address the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise form the project

Answer 9

- improved diagnosis of diseases - stop them or treat them better - earlier detection of genetic dispositions to disease - eg pregnancy planning? - assess health damage and risks caused by radiation exposure, including low-does exposure - exonerate persons wrongly accused of crimes - estvalish parernity and other family relationships

Answer 10

Who would get the personal information about your genes? Who decides what is a disease or a disorder? Who owns all this information of the different sequences etc? Who can get access to this information?

Answer 11

- 7% of infants are born with one - evident at birth but may or may nor be observed until childhood or adulthood - can be presents and everything seems fine but something will become apparent later on in childhood - can be caused be a problem with the genes and/or chromosomes - Huntington's disease & Cystic Fibrosis

Answer 12

- sometimes the distribution of the 46 chromosomes is uneven - this means the gamete has too few or too many chromosomes - most of these abnormalities are lethal causing a miscarriage - but not all, Trisomy 21 (Down's Syndrome) - caused by the inheritance of an extra 21st chromosome - have lowered IQ, congenital eye, ear & heart defects as well as a number of distinctive physical features

Answer 13

Most common - the uneven segregation of chromosomes Likelihood of this happening increases with the age of the mother Ageing Ova Hypothesis - at 35 years, the ova begins to degenerate and produce abnormalities - subject to more testing as you are more susceptible to abnormalities

Answer 14

- when there is a mutation in the structure of one or more genes - can happen spontaneously or can be caused by environmental factors such as radiation, drug abuse, disease etc - parents can be carriers of hereditary gene defects as recessive traits - the problem only occurs if both parents have the harmful version of the gene and if the parents both pass on the harmful gene to the child Example - Muscular Dystrophy and Haemophilia

Answer 15

1) Germinal Period (weeks 1-2) 2) Embryonic Period (week 3-8) 3) Foetal Period (week 8 to birth)

Answer 16

- sperm fertilises the female egg (ovum) - forms a zygote which then repeatedly goes through cell division to become a mass of cells that attaches to the mother's uterus about 10 to 14 days after conception - the blastocyst also begins to secrete hormones that inhibit menstruation (indicates that the woman is pregnant)

Answer 17

- cell mass is now called an embryo which develops from the end of week 2 to week 8 - the placenta and umbilical cord develop at the start of this stage so since the cells are provided with nutrients & O2, the cells rapidly divide and become specialised - all major biological organs & systems are formed - week 8 - heart is beating, brain is forming and facial features such as the eyes can be recognised - this is the most sensitive period to disruption (including miscarriage) due the vast amount of vast things happening - if anything does go wrong, it can easily affect development

Answer 18

- foetus develops from week 9 until birth - muscles strengthen and other bodily systems develop - many organs & structures are already formed so main focus is on growth and detailed development - by 12 weeks the foetus can also suck, breathe and swallow - at about 24 weeks, the eyes open - around 27 weeks, the foetus attains the age of viability (it is likely to survive outside the womb in case of a premature birth)

Answer 19

- the most dramatic development of any organ in the body - the only organ in the body that develops throughout the prenatal period - at birth - weighs about 25% of its eventual adult weight - 6 months - weighs about 50% of its eventual adult weight - first brain areas that mature are deep within the brain & regulate basic survival functions such as heartbeat and breathing - rapid brain growth slows in later childhood - at 5 years, the brain has reached 90% of their adult size but brain maturation continues - neurons become more insulated, unnecessary synapses are pruned back and lost, association areas of the cortex mature and the cerebral hemispheres become more highly specialised.

Answer 20

Pennington (2002) - findings indicate that 40% of genes are specialised for brain growth and function Mo & Zecevic (2008) - identified a gene called PAX-6 which is known to facet prenatal brain development Watts (2008) - disorders such as dyslexia and autism have been linked to the impairment of neuronal migration in the prenatal brain

Answer 21

1) a large numbers of excess of neurons - if there is damage, there are neurons to spare 2) plasticity of the brain - able to take on specialised requirements if damage should occur to one part of the brain - eg stroke patients - LH damaged so language is affected by can train the RH of the brain to learn language again - eg wild boy of Aveyron - never fully learnt language due to passing of critical periods, could learn some basic communication but never fully developed language

Answer 22

External agents that cause abnormal pre-natal development

Answer 23

- if contracted especially when the embryo's eyes, ears, heart & central nervous system are developing, it can cause blindness, deafness, heart defects and mental retardation in the infant (Plotkin 2006)

Answer 24

1960's - given to mothers to try & stop the negative effects of morning sickness Given the wrong isomer of the chemical which resulted in limb deformities in babies - this shows that the placenta acts as a barrier rather than a filter

Answer 25

- can be passed from mother to foetus Untreated syphilis - about 25% of foetuses are born dead HIV - if untreated during pregnancy or delivery by C-section can result in around 25% of children being infected with the disease too (Meleski & Damato 2003)

Answer 26

A severe group of abnormalities that is a result of pre-natal exposure to alcohol (Streissguth 1977;2001) - facial abnormalities and small, malformed brains - mental retardation, attentional & perceptual deficits, irritability and impulsivity

Answer 27

- readily crosses the placenta so the baby is effectively drinking too - the does affects the baby too - diminishes the available oxygen to the baby - link between prenatal alcohol exposure and a range of developmental disabilities characterised by physical, cognitive and behavioural impairments - eg foetal alcohol spectrum disorders - if you have FASDs - significantly increased risk for mental health problems and poor social adjustment - Molina et al (1995) - foetus increases swallowing if alcohol is present in the amniotic fluid - prenatal exposure to alcohol has also been linked to offending / violent behaviour

Answer 28

- no major congenital deficits Maternal smoking increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight (Kirchengast & Hartmann, 2003) Regular tobacco use by fathers has also been linked to low infant birth weight and increased risk of respiratory infections (Wakefield et al, 1998) - decreases O2 by displacing it with CO - link between maternal smoking and later offending behaviour?

Answer 29

Aspirin - associated with lower IQ Heroin / Cocaine - babies of using mothers are often born addicted and experience withdrawal symptoms after birth (cognitive functioning & ability to regulate arousal and attention may also be impaired) 60-80% of mothers take prescription drugs at some time during pregnancy - think they are safe but you need to consider the babies health? Antidepressants - easily cross the placenta Amphetamines - cross the placenta & stimulate the nervous system - baby gets in on the trip too - isn't ready for the hyper-stimulation

Answer 30

Causes blood flow to be diverted from the womb Hormones which can interfere with growth are released Austin & Leader (2000) found that prolonged maternal stress is associated with a risk of premature birth

Answer 31

Learn & think in a qualitatively different way from adults Children are natural-born scientists seeking to understand the world Saw the child as developing in isolation in the sense that they are constructing their own understanding of the world The child's own actions on the world are crucial to development - we construct our knowledge by interacting with the world

Answer 32

Nature / Nurture Sociocultural Influences Child's active role Continuity / Discontinuity Individual Differences

Answer 33

- basic mental structures - organised pattern of thought and action Mental framework that guides our interactions with the world Cognitive development occurs as we acquire new schemas and as our existing schemas become more complex

Answer 34

The process by which new experiences are incorporated into existing schema - interpret an experience in terms of current ways of thinking Eg when an infant comes across a new kind of toy/object it will try to fit it into an existing schema such as things are suckable

Answer 35

The process pay which new experiences cause existing schemas to change Eg public transport in different counties Eg as the infant tries to suck most of the objects around it, it will come across some which taste bad so the schema will develop into some things are suckable and some things are not Eg thinking all animals are the same but they exhibit different behaviours and so on

Answer 36

An innate self regulatory process that (through assimilation & accommodation) results in a more organised, powerful and complex schema for adapting to the environment.

Answer 37

- they occur in an invariable sequence - when a child begins a new stage, schemas are somewhat unstable and disorganised - speed of progression is determined by the environment - each stage is defined by the appearance of qualitatively different levels of thinking

Answer 38

Understand world through sensory experiences and physical/motor interactions with the world Significant achievement - development of means end behaviour - learning has its consequences eg kicking leg makes mobile move Child's gradual separation of self from the external environment - eg they are my feet Development of Object Permanence End of this stage is signalled by the onset if deferred imitation - imitate something after it has occurred - it has stayed in their head

Answer 39

The understanding that an object continues to exist in a particular place even when it is no longer visible

Answer 40

About 6 months: - hide a toy from the baby's view - to them it no longer exists as it is no longer in view Eg peek-a-boo About 1 year: - will search for the toy and retrieve it

Answer 41

Key feature - semiotic functions - the ability to use a symbol, an object or a word to stand for something Don't quite yet understand basic mental operations or rules Child can think about past and future events as well as being able to better anticipate the consequences of their actions Are egocentric - unable to separate their own perspective from that of others Failure to conserve

Answer 42

The principle that basic properties of objects (such as their volume, mass or quantity) stay the same

Answer 43

Can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve concrete objects and situations Can easily solve conservation problems Grasp the concepts of reversibility and display less centration

Answer 44

Able to think logically and systematically about both concrete and abstract problems Can form hypotheses and test them in a thoughtful way Can think about the nature of and their role in society Internal cognitive structures are now highly organised

Answer 45

Standard Piagetian conservation tasks 3 different conditions - child asked twice, only post-transformation and no question asked Asked twice can lead to the child believing that their first answer is incorrect

Answer 46

Introduced the naughty teddy into the conservation tasks Naughty teddy was responsible for the transformation not the experimenter - this was to investigate whether there was a power imbalance between the experimenter and child? When the naughty teddy was responsible, children as young as 4 were able to provide correct answers

Answer 47

Modified the liquid conservation task Pointed out there was a broken edge on one of the identical beakers before transferring the liquid to a third beaker Children were more successful when given context - broken edge gave the child a reason for behaviour

Answer 48

The first relationship is fundamental to shape a child's social & emotional development

Answer 49

The child may develop psychological difficulties

Answer 50

Investigated the claim that insecure attachment may be a risk factor for eating disorders Clinical sample of 96 women with anorexia or bulimia Measured body dissatisfaction, separation anxiety & adult attachment styles Both groups body dissatisfaction scores correlated highly with the other two measures Therefore insecure attachment appears to be a consistent correlate of negative body images evaluations of the women with both disorders

Answer 51

The child's main drive is to feed and the mother is seen as the source of food

Answer 52

Found that children who spent long periods of time in hospitals and orphanages during early years often showed serious developmental problems Eg profound withdrawal from social interaction, intellectual impairments and in some cases physical delays Argued that the cause of these problems could be due to a lack of a close emotional bond between the child and the primary caregiver

Answer 53

A warm, intimate and continuous relationship with the mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment

Answer 54

Based on secure attachment with the primary caregiver Attachment to father or second primary caregiver can support and reinforce the infant's attachment to the mother Argued there is an inherent drive in the infant to seek attachment - this need not be biological parents, can just as easily occur with adoptive parents

Answer 55

First 2 months - infants looking for someone to care for them by emitting signalling behaviour indiscriminately By 6 months - the signals (smiles & cries) become increasingly restricted to the primary caregiver 6 to 12 months - clear signs of the infant's strong attachment to their caregiver emerge (separation protest & stranger anxiety) 3 years - the relationship between the mother & the child is a partnership and the child appreciates the mothers feelings - you will see this fixed behaviour occurring in all children - this shows there is a biological basis, it's an innate quality

Answer 56

Retrospective study of childhood experience of delinquent adolescent boys Had a history of being taken into care, growing up in institutions or moving from one temporary mother-figure to another Results showed that deprivation of maternal care was a recurring theme in the delinquent boys

Answer 57

Followed the development of 30 kids - half foster, half institution until 3 years then foster care Assessed children at ages 10 to 14 Institution kids: - delayed in terms of intelligence, speech, reading & maths skills - frequently found to be restless, lacking in concentration, being fearful, unpopular with other kids and craved adult attention

Answer 58

That there is a critical period for development Attachment needs to take place in this critical period otherwise development will permanently be stunted and never be able to resolved

Answer 59

Imprinting - irreversible after the critical period Animal imprints on the first thing it sees moving

Answer 60

Bowlby argued that a human's critical period was between 6 months and 3 years During this time, the child needs continuous love and care from one person Significant separations between the child & the primary caregiver in this period would have serious detrimental effects on development

Answer 61

Argued for: - the importance of the mother's sensitive response to infant - also the importance of the mother allowing the infant to experience tolerable frustrations (let them cry for a while etc) - against the perfect mother whose aim was to alleviate all distress immediately - for the "good enough" mother whose aim was to be appropriately responsive as well as encouraging independence - loving you enough whilst not smothering

Answer 62

Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent and Disorganised

Answer 63

Child cries during separation from the mother Easily soothed upon reunion Actively sought and maintained proximity with the mother Distress during separation period - related to mothers absence Child preferred mother to stranger

Answer 64

Infant shunned contact with mother upon reunion Mother and stranger treated in very similar ways throughout the situation

Answer 65

``` Infant very upset at mothers departure Not easily comforted on mothers return Resists contact but combines this with proximity seeking behaviour Shows anger towards mother at reunion Resists comfort from stranger ```

Answer 66

Child appears to be dazed, confused or apprehensive Shows no coherent way of coping with the separation and reunion

Answer 67

- PND affects around 10% of all mothers - can impair the early mother-infant interaction - depressed mothers: speak less, are less responsive, present with a 'flat' affect and express more negative emotions *remember babies respond to our facial expressions* - this may interfere with information processing abilities as well as social/emotional development

Answer 68

- reported the efficacy of a preventative psychotherapeutic intervention - aimed at specifically improving early mother-infant relationships in terms of positive interaction and maternal affect - the negative impact of PND was abolished

Answer 69

Bowlby & Ainsworth claimed that attachment between the infant and the primary caregiver was universal and had a biological basis Ainsworth replicated the original Uganda study in the US and found many similarities - shows there is a biological basis??? Also found a very similar distribution of the 3 attachment patterns: 70% were securely attached, 20% were avoidant and 10% were ambivalent

Answer 70

- kids learn about behaviour by observing and interacting with their siblings - through comparison and contrast, children use their families to help in identity construction - you aim to be different enough to not to have to engage in direct competition - different paths and achievements

Answer 71

Importance of birth order in these relationships and attachments Role of age and gender - similarity breeds contempt (eg sisters hating each other) Contribution of siblings to development can be direct or indirect

Answer 72

Direct role as a teacher Eg reading, language, modelling, how things work, takes care etc Zukow-Goldring (1995) - teacher role helps older sibling with their own reading and language achievement, competence and confidence BUT need to be careful as the older child needs to be carefree too Marshall et al (1997) - if the role of teacher is too demanding then it impedes on other aspects of life

Answer 73

Expectations from older children influence their views on the younger child Whiteman & Buchanan (2002) - parents experience with the first born child influences their expectations for the younger child Bronfenbrenner (1977) - teachers expectations of younger siblings is influenced by their experiences with the older siblings Transactional nature of development & attachment - all things interact with each other - you are an active agents as well as others

Answer 74

- current educational application to attachment - school context as a form of attachment? Secure emotional connections provide a base for psychological and social development Sound attachments underpin well-being throughout life 3 facets of the school social context underpin an individual's sense of attachment - security, communication and positive regard

Answer 75

Early experience determines which parts of the brain grow & which parts don't Early exposure to negative experiences (eg abuse & neglect) limits long-term capacity to regulate feelings Good early attachment to primary caregiver serves to promote resilience to later traumatic experiences

Answer 76

Under conditions of stress & threat, the cortex is bypasses and we rely on the quicker response of the mid and limbic brain Insecure attachment = hyperarousal - if stress & threat is chronic in early life, the connections to the cortex are not reinforced - this leads to constant states of hyperarousal or frozen dissociative responses which are hard to change

Answer 77

Early emotional & social experiences that we have help us to construct an internal working model of relationships that effects the way that we relate to the external world Not all children will construct positive internal models and as a result, may view the world as a hostile and threatening place

Answer 78

- Child / adult illness - Disruption in the relationship - Factors which inhibit the adults' ability to think/feel what the child needs - Factors which inhibit adults' ability to provide what the child needs

Answer 79

Warm - communicate love & care for the child Hostile - express rejection & behave as if they do not care about the child Restrictive - enforce rules Permissive - have few rules

Answer 80

Low on control - lax on rules - inconsistent on discipline High on warmth - highly accepting - frequent expressions of love

Answer 81

High on control - tough on discipline & obedience - highly structured environment Low on warmth - little in the way of warmth - emotionally distant

Answer 82

High on control - structured environment - strong consistent discipline High on warmth - show feelings and affection towards the child - accepting towards the child

Answer 83

Authoritative: - children have high self-esteem and are high school achievers Authoritarian: - children have low self-esteem and are poor school performers Indulgent parents: - children are immature & self-centred Neglectful children: - children are poorly motivated, impulsive and aggressive

Answer 84

Distress over contact with unfamiliar people

Answer 85

Distress over being separated from a primary caregiver

Human Development Flashcards

(109 cards)